Darkness of the Day
by Serena Cadwell
Summary: Yeah, okay. There's a new Cullen named Dwayne. It's pretty much the story of Edward and Bella told with a twist. Dwayne's Bella, named Serena, is a sorceress. Hear the tale of the two as, um, as it goes. If you love Harry Potter and Twilight, read!
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, yeah, this sort of just popped up in my head and I started writing. Anyways, I only own Dwayne, The Pythons, the Hastingses, and the spells. Everything else is Stephenie Meyer's. Except for McDonald's, which I still don't own, but I wish I did. What? I love Big Macs!!**

**--**

**Serena**

Worried, the feeling that shook through my whole body. I caused way too much trouble at my old school. Why was I entrusted with the most dangerous thing in my family? We had been in the family's '76 mini-van for eleven hours, on our way to a town called Forks, Washington. Our starting point was Atlanta, Georgia. I looked at my five-year-old sister, who was sleeping, her head pressed against the cold, dark window. I looked at the clock, which read 9:56 PM. I said, "Mom, why couldn't we just fly?"

"Serena, honey, we couldn't afford to put all of our stuff on the plane." Serena was my name. It was unique, but my great-grandmother's name was Serena.

I then said, "No, Mom, by broom." My dad wasn't here, nor would ever be. Once he learned about my mom's family's secret, he left us, scared that we might turn him into a frog.

"Serena Marie Python, just because you're entrusted with the family sorcery, does not mean you can use it every second!"

"Luckily it wasn't Maddie, Mom. She'd make her stuffed animals and Barbies talk when she does those tea parties."

"That's not true, Rena," My little sister piped up. She was awake, which meant I was back on duty, entertaining the thing.

I looked at her in the dark and said, "You know it is, Madelina. Either that, or you would've made yourself the Princess of Sorcery."

"Stop insulting your sister, Serena," My mom suddenly said as we pulled into Chicago, where we were staying for the night. We drove around until we found a motel. Mom gave me and Maddie the room key while she started to go get some food to fix for breakfast.

"Mom, why can't we just start tomorrow with a healthy dose of McDonalds Iced Coffee accompanied with a Bacon, Egg, and Cheese McGriddle and hashbrown?" I said full of sarcasm.

"Yeah!" Maddie cheered. She really liked McDonalds.

"You'd get Dr. Pepper instead of Iced Coffee." I said putting Maddie in the bed which we would share for the night.

"Rena, we have to act normal. You know what'll happen. The Hastingses will-"

"-come and attack us and take Maddie away from us. I know Mom. But Mickey D's is normal. Why don't we also stop at Wal-Mart and get a pet fish?"

"Can we name it Guppy?" Maddie asked.

"I'm joking here Maddie. Mom, get some rest, you've been driving all day. I just got my license anyway. Why don't we split up the driving tomorrow?" I looked at the map and saw we still had thirty-five hours more of road time until we reached our new home. "We can get McDonald's, and I'll start out. We'll switch at the rest stop or the first gas station in Montana. How does that sound, Mom?" She looked scared at the idea of me driving our ancient family car. "Don't worry Mom. Would the DMV give me a license if I was seen as a threat on the road?"

"You're right," Mom said, finally realizing. "Just let me go to the gas station right now and let me restock on snacks. You put your sister to bed and get some rest yourself. You're starting at eight."

I squealed with excitement. Even though I was a new sorceress, I wanted to still live like a normal teenager. Once my mom pulled out of the motel parking lot, I sat down on the side I was sleeping on to tuck Maddie in. Maddie said, "How come we're moving so far away from home, Rena?"

I didn't want to answer. I hated answering this question. "You'll find out some day, Maddie. Right now, you're too young to understand."

"Does it have to do with us being magical?"

"Hold up," I said with a smile. "Who said _you _were a sorceress?"

"I'm not, yet. I'm not thirteen. But does it have to do with us being magical?"

I finally said, "Yes, Maddie, it does. Right now, you need to get some rest. I've got to stay up until Mommy gets back." I handed her the teddy bear that she slept with every night. "Night Maddie."

"Rena, can you sing me that song?"

"What song?" I asked.

"That one that Granny sang to us."

I peeked into my memory. I then head the tune drift through my head. No words were playing though. "I-I don't remember the words."

"Hum it!"

"Will you go to sleep?"

"Yes." I then hummed the song until she drifted off to sleep. Once I was sure she was asleep, I changed into my pajamas. I went to hop in bed as soon as Mom came to the door. I opened the door silently and whispered, "She's asleep. I'm going to bed too."

"When I'm driving, you're studying," Mom commanded. She pulled out a book and said, "This is the Python Book of Spells." It looked like a picture book.

"There isn't a lot of spells," I pointed out.

"That's because they're real simple," My mom taught.

"Okay," I groaned. I played around with the family pendant around my neck as I went to sleep. I was sleeping well until I was invaded with a dream.

It was raining very hard. I was in a forest, screaming for help. I then saw this beautiful boy. I couldn't compare anything to him. He then said, "What are you doing here?" He then pulled my sleek, black hair back to get a better look at my face. I looked into his eyes which were topaz. My eyes were a very pale green.

"I- I don't know. I think I hurt something."

"You have to go away, Serena"

"Why?"

"It's not safe here."

I looked at his shaggy, blondish-white colored hair. I asked, "What are you?" I then woke up, gasping for breath. Mom and Maddie were at the van. I looked at the time. 7:30. I quickly got dressed, not even putting on makeup. I then ran out to the van and said, "I'm awake. The driver is here!"

"Good. I thought I was gonna have to drive for the rest of the way." My mom joked.

I replied, "Ha ha, very funny. That's when we get in Montana." I hopped in the seat and shouted, "Get in the car people! We need to get the show on the road!" Everyone got in the car and we were off.

Once we reached the first gas station in Montana, Mom and I traded off and I joined a sleeping Maddie in the back when I was bored and slept a little bit, I was still bored. Therefore, I picked up the family book and read the note from my great grandmother.

_Dear Serena Marie Python,_

_The Python family is one of the most honored families in sorcery. We once were the queens until the Hastingses came around. I am slowly becoming ill and have asked your mother, as my last wish, to train you become as powerful as I was. When you were younger, I saw tremendous power in you. Three years ago, when I took you to my hometown of Fork, Washington, I saw many things out of you, things I did not see out of Madelina. Therefore, I entrust you with the family sorcery, the reason you wear the family pendant around your neck. I also entrust you with the power that I had, which you will gain on your seventeenth birthday. However, I must warn you, when you have this power; the youngest Hastings will come and find you, no matter where you are. Use your sorcery wisely._

_Mon amour et pouvoir seront toujours avec vous,_

_Serena Elizabeth Python_

I read on, scared. Great, when I'm seventeen, I'm going to be hunted down by the most powerful family of sorcerers known to sorcery. I shook, "Mom, are you aware of what your grandmother is doing to me?"

"She's entrusting you the sorcery, of course I know, Serena. I agreed to it," she answered.

"Are you aware of what else is happening to me?" I asked.

"What else?" Mom said.

"I get her power when I'm seventeen. Then the Hastingses are gonna hunt me down. Why did I have to be more powerful than Maddie, Mom? Maddie was at that age where all the outbursts happen when I was entrusted."

"The reason why we're moving up here," She stated.

"Wait, you knew?" I questioned further.

She pulled into the last exit (I had the directions beside me) and said, "Yes, I knew. The Python family has no secrets amongst each other. Each woman works together to figure out which child to entrust. Anyways, get back to sleep."

"Mother, I've slept for… for like ten hours it feels like." She then snapped her fingers, saying, "_Sommeil, Serena_." I then fell into a deep, peaceful sleep. The darkness of sleep was then broken out by yet another dream.

The boy from my last dream ran closer to me, very fast. He was a blur. I then screamed, "Wait! They're here!" I must have been seventeen

He then stopped and looked at me with his topaz eyes. He then came over to me, holding me in his arms as tears slid down my face. He then said, "Don't worry, we'll protect you."

I then woke up, once again gasping for breath. Mom asked, "Serena, are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said. "I'm fine." I then saw the welcome sign to Forks. "Home sweet home," I said sarcastically.

"You can at least choose your room," Mom said. "We haven't moved out of Georgia since me, my mom, and Granny Serena moved to Atlanta."

"Is Granny Serena up here?" Maddie asked. I did not even realize she was awake.

"She got up here last month with my mom's help," Mom answered. She then pulled up to a house, which the house next door had a patrol car parked in the driveway.

"Uh oh Mom, the new neighbor's a police officer. You better behave yourself!" I joked. Mom and I started laughing, Maddie not getting it. Once we stopped laughing, I asked, "Can I go choose my room now?" Mom nodded and I darted out of the car and into the front door of our new home. I then found the staircase and went up, walking into a wood-paneled hallway, with four doors down the hallway. I was immediately pulled to the last door on the right. I pulled the door open slowly. I then saw the room. There was a bay window, facing the forest. I sat on the windowsill, looking at the rainforest I was now going to call home. I then saw something, a fast blur. What was that? I then looked closer and saw a boy walk up from the forest. He had shaggy blonde-white hair from what it looked like. It was the boy from my dreams.

"Want to go get your stuff?" Mom asked, startling me. I turned around, looking at her. I then looked back at the forest. Was the boy the blur? I was determined to find out what he was, even if it ended up with the Hastingses here. Were there more sorcerers and sorceresses here than just me and my family? This left me in a fog while unpacking my belongings. The boy from my dreams, there was something about him, a mystery only waiting to be solved.

**Dwayne**

Adrenaline, the feeling I used to feel in moments like this. I was running fast, with my new brothers, the Cullens. For years, I have been looking for a coven to join, and only weeks ago, I just found one. Edward, the oldest out of all of us, was running very fast, but the other two, Jasper and Emmett, were going a different way while I was following Edward. I was fast, faster than other vampires were, but not as fast as Edward Cullen. My blonde-white hair was flying in the wind I created with my speed. Edward then went outside the forest, just enough to be seen. "Edward, wait!" I shouted. I then was stopped by a powerful scent, the scent of someone's blood. The smell of something that was vanilla, freshly made. I then walked at human speed to the edge to see a girl with sleek, black hair that went to her mid-back, sitting on her windowsill, staring straight at me. The smell was coming from her. She then turned around for something, and I ran off. _Who is she? Wait, I can't get involved with her, _I thought. _Her scent is too powerful. I don't want her and I to be like_…_._ Then a voice came from behind me, "Who are you talking about, Dwayne?"

I turned around, startled to see Edward there. His dirty blonde hair was everywhere. I forgot he could read minds, as I could be manipulative, which it was easy to get my way, but I only used it when needed. I quickly fibbed, "No one."

"Dwayne Cullen, I know you're lying." He quickly said, smiling.

"I don't lie."

"Well then who's this girl?"

"No one, I just saw her."

"Want me to ask Alice what her name is?"

"Edward, Dwayne," shouted Emmett. "Cool it down. Weren't we coming to get Bella?"

"I'm going back," I decided. "I'd love to meet Bella though." I then raced back through the maze of trees behind the town to get back home. I saw Rosalie and Alice sitting there in the main room. Rosalie asked, "Where are the others, Dwayne?"  
"Getting Bella."

"What about this girl?" Alice asked. "Do we get another Bella?" I have heard the story so many times about Edward and Bella, even though I have never met her. That was why the two were getting married, so she could be safe.

"What girl?" I simply asked. I finally had my own tricks through this coven. I acted clueless with Alice, since she could see the future. I acted blank around Jasper and I tried to keep a clear head around Edward. I had failed today because of _her_. Who was she? Would I see her in school tomorrow? I then realized, I was the only Cullen who went to Forks High School. I could be my own self there, not the Dwayne the Cullens and Hales (that was Rosalie and Emmett's last name) knew. Could I somehow try to keep this girl in the window as far away as possible? I was not going to use my manipulative powers on the administration. I would just let her schedule fall in place.

The next day, at Forks High, I sat in the lunchroom, looking around. I then smelled that scent again, the freshly made vanilla. I stayed where I was, looking for the girl with the long, black hair. I then found her, looking for someone. Luckily, her eyes did not fall upon me. She then sat with Lucy Dunn, a girl with a red bob for hair. She was nice, but I was not much of a talker. I then heard their conversation, Lucy introducing the girl to her group of friends.

"Everyone," Lucy introduced, "This is… Katrina?"

"Hi, my name's Serena," she corrected. Serena's voice was a soft voice, a voice for someone that did not talk much. Then, everyone at the table started a conversation at once with her, asking her questions. Her pale green eyes widened, not used to this kind of attention. _Welcome to the small town of Forks, Serena, _I thought, _where everyone's families grew up with each other a town. _

"Where are you from, Serena?" Lucy then asked.

"I'm from Atlanta, Georgia," She answered.

"You're pretty pale to be from there," a girl with brunette ringlets said. "You're as pale as Dwayne Cullen." She was pale like me, pale enough to be a vampire. Surely, a vampire did not have such a seducing scent like that.

"I-I don't think I've met him yet," Serena said.

"Hey, Pretty Boy," Lucy turned around, talking to me. "There's someone I want you to meet." I looked at their table. The only seat open was by Serena. I then went over there, sitting by Serena. I tried to block out that sweet smell, but I could not. Lucy then said, "Dwayne, this is Katrina."

Serena laughed, "It's Serena. Nice to meet you, Dwayne." She then extended her hand.

I took the hand, saying, "Nice to meet you too." Great, what was going to happen next? Does she recognize me from yesterday?

"Wait," Serena said to me. "Weren't you walking around in the forest yesterday?"

"Yeah," I said. Was she manipulating me? She could not be a vampire. She had blood and green eyes. Could she be a werewolf? For a fact, I knew she was not human. I was in a fog, wondering this. I cannot believe I fell in love with a werewolf, if she was one. What was my family going to say? I was in a fog, until I saw her again.


	2. Chapter 2

Serena

**Yeah, I pretty much re-made the whole first science class scene in Twilight for this chapter. Anyways, this is my remix for this fanfiction. **

**I love y'all!  
**

* * *

**Serena**

Dwayne. Dwayne. Dwayne. I said it forever in my head after lunch, so was his melodic, soft voice. I did not want to forget the name. In English after lunch, all I did was scribble his face and name all over a piece of notebook paper. When the bell rang, I wadded the paper into my book bag and headed off to my next class, Science.

When I got there, I was greeted with Dwayne sitting down next to the only empty seat in the room. I went to the teacher and got him to sign a required note and he told me to sit by him. He then got up and started teaching. "Today, we'll be watching a video about the causes of smoking." _Great, _I thought, _I get woozy at stuff like this. Please don't let me faint, please don't let me faint. If only I knew that spell already. Why can't I take French? Why? _The video then started. Later on, it showed a man whose eye was eaten away. I started getting lightheaded, breathing heavily.

"Are you alright?" Dwayne asked in a soft whisper.

"Yeah," I said. "I just get woozy at stuff like this." Then, there was a cancerous lung shown. I then fainted, the last thing remembering was darkness, feeling a pair of icy, chilling hands catch me.

* * *

**Dwayne**

I caught her as she fainted, her hair falling like a feather. I said, "Serena fainted!" Lucy was the first to hop up and come over to help, even though I was capable of dealing with her myself.

"Great, this isn't the best class to be in for someone like her," Lucy remarked. "This class is not for the ones with weak stomachs."

"Mr. Banner," I said to the teacher, "I know where she lives. This is the last class of the day anyways. Let me take her home." I then played with him mind.

_I don't think I should, _he thought.

_C'mon, nothing will go wrong. All Cullens are the same. They keep to themselves. She shouldn't be driving anyways, _I made myself sound like a conscience. That is how my talent worked. I know I was persuasive when I was a human, so I ended up with this talent.

"Okay, Cullen," Mr. Banner said. "Get outta here." I then picked up Serena in her limp, unconscious state. I then walked out into the hallway, and saw nobody was in the halls. I then went into my vampire speed, racing to my 2008 Mustang GT. I put her in the backseat, lying down. I then pushed the pedal down and raced to Serena's house, which I knew the way to. She lived next to Bella Swan, Edward's fiancée. I've been there quite a lot with him since I've joined the coven. I pulled into her driveway and picked her up, lightly knocking on the door so I would not break it. Her little sister answered the door, saying, "Who are you and why are you holding my sister?" Her little black pigtails and chocolate eyes widened as she saw her sister. She then screamed, "MOMMY!" Her mom came holding a historic book, dropping it once she saw her daughter in my arms, unconscious.

"What happened?" Her mom asked, leading me up to her room.

"She fainted in Science. She doesn't have a strong stomach, does she?"

"Were you watching something that showed organs?" She asked.

She led me up the stairs to Serena's bedroom. She pulled her brunette hair up and said, "Put her on the bed. She'll be conscious in a little bit. Do you mind staying here until she wakes up… uh…"

"My name's Dwayne Cullen. And I don't mind at all."

"Isn't your dad the doctor in this town?"

"Yeah," I answered. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I'm the new nurse. I'm also a mom too. Serena faints when she sees something she can't handle." Her mom explained. "Just stay in here until she wakes up."

"Yes ma'am," I said. Once her mom was out of the room, I sat on the windowsill as Serena did yesterday.

* * *

**Serena**

I was being cornered in my room by a boy with piercing blue eyes and red hair who wore a necklace with an H pendant around his neck, which identified him as a Hastings. I said, "Philo, just leave me alone." Philo Hastings, you have to be kidding me. He was rude and arrogant. He _hated _me. We used to hang out when we were five, and when our families were friendly to each other.

"You've changed so much since I last saw you, Serena," He said, in a scary like voice. "You don't know how much power we would have… _together._" He then grabbed my arm.

"Dwayne is perfect for me. _Let go of me, Philo!_" I screamed. He then pulled me closer.

I then shot up straight in my bed, gasping for breath once again. Dwayne then turned his head towards me. "What are you doing here?" I asked.

"You fainted at school, so I brought you here. Your mom asked me to stay until you woke up. But I do have one question."

"Shoot."

"Do you usually wake up breathless?"

I answered, "This is the third time in… two days, I think." I looked at his eyes. I was definitely sure they were topaz. "How long was I unconscious?" I asked.

"About four hours. Do you need help?"

I tried to stand up, but felt lightheaded. I said, "Yeah, can you get my mom for me?" I then suddenly fell back onto my bed. I looked at the clock. 7:56 PM. Dwayne Cullen was in my house, Philo Hastings was going to come after me in a month, and there was a mystery to be solved in this town. I was determined to solve it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay, yeah. This one is full of charities, websites, and newspapers I so don't own. But I made up the one Alice goes on. Anyways, indulge, darlings!**

**And Serena's part has a song which sets the mood. I don't own it. Flyleaf does. **

* * *

**Dwayne**

The next day, I sat at home with Edward and Alice talking. I told them about Serena. Edward said, "Sounds like a new Bella."

"Where is this Serena from?" Alice asked.

"Atlanta. Nothing but sunshine."

"And she's _still _pale." They both said. "I'll look in on it," Alice said as Edward said, "I'll try to get into her mind."

--

Three weeks later, I sat in my room on my laptop, Googling Serena. I clicked everything until I finally found a newspaper article with a picture of her in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. It was about volunteer work for a charity called Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless

_Serena Python is one of the many volunteers that help out with serving the Homeless on volunteer days. Python has been coming since she was ten and this is her twenty-first time serving. _

So, Serena had a big heart. Then, I heard someone come in. I looked up and saw Alice. Alice said solemnly, "I just saw something concerning that girl."

"What?" I asked.

_I can't tell him._

_It won't hurt him. Tell him. Tell him._

_Stop it!_

_Tell him! _I hated manipulating the Cullens, but this was a circumstance, about Serena.

"I saw you and her fighting off something and- and-"

_Continue…. "_And?"

"Oh Dwayne! Serena's a sorceress!" She then took the laptop from me and typed in a website. She then let me look at it. It had a picture of Serena in Atlanta, but it was taken inconspicuously. It then said a bunch of stuff about her which read:

_Name: Serena Marie Python_

_Entrusted by: Serena Felicity Python_

_Family: Serena Felicity Python, Samantha Elizabeth Python, Olivia Taylor Python, and Madelina Ashley Python_

_Spell Origin: French_

_Researcher: Philo James Hastings_

_Petals: 24_

_Threatening: Yes_

"Alice, what is this?" I asked. Serena was being stalked by this Philo person. I had to tell her.

"It's some sort of database of all sorcerers and sorceresses that I hacked in to. I was reading, and the Hastings family is like the Volturi. But they stole their power from the Pythons, which used it for good." She answered like a scientist. It was the calmest I have ever seen her. "Quick, she's about to call. You might want to head over there."

"What am I going to say? 'Hey Serena, my sister hacked into a database and saw you were a sorceress. I just wanted to let you know that I'm a vampire.'"

"No, just wait for her to tell you. She'll tell you soon enough." She said. The phone then rang. Alice went to go answer the phone, and I rushed to Serena's house.

* * *

**Serena**

"Maddie just shut up!" I was babysitting until my grandma and great granny got here. My mom had to work an extra shift at the hospital. Three weeks into a so-called summer vacation, and today was the most annoying. Maddie was screaming at the top of her lungs. I finally found her and said, "I am about to leave you all alone and drive to sunny California. Now if you don't want that, shut up."

"You're supposed to be practicing magic, Rena." Maddie argued.

"I can practice while driving," I said. Maddie then started screaming again, and I recited, "_Sommeil, Madelina." _She then instantly nodded off to sleep. I took the spell book upstairs to my room and sat on my bed.

I got bored looking at my blank, white walls ad looked up a painting spell. I then read and had to remember from my previous lessons of the French language, "_Chambre de peinture_, uh, _pastel vert_." Numerous sparks flew from my hands, but the room didn't change its color. I then pronounced more confidently, "_Pastel de pièce de peinture vert_." More sparks, this time were colored a pastel green, flew around the room and landed on the wall, changing my room a light shade of green. I then got out my white lamps from a box and only hooked up one, a cream-colored French floor lamp, and put it in the corner. I turned it on and the room was instantly lit. The green went well with the wooden floors and the lamp looked good in the corner. "Good job, Serena," I praised myself. It looked like my room back in Georgia. At least I was practicing my magic. I then looked at the date and suddenly realized. Next week was my seventeenth birthday. Next week, Philo Hastings would come to haunt me, stalk me. I then picked up my cell phone and decided to call Dwayne, who left his number for me when I fainted. I've used it quite a lot. Me and Dwayne have talked a lot during those three weeks.

I only got half of a dial tone when I got an unfamiliar, "Hello?"

I asked, "Is Dwayne there?"

"No," the voice answered, "This is his sister, Alice."

"Oh," I said disappointedly. "Well. Can you tell him that Serena called?"

"I'll tell him when he gets home." She then hung up. The doorbell then rang, and I dashed down to the door and opened it. My grandma, great-granny, and he stood there.

"Grandma, Granny, thank goodness you're here! Maddie was getting on my nerves and she just ran out of energy."

"Thank goodness she's only five," Granny said. "Madelina can be a full ball of energy."

"Where is your mother?" Grandma asked.

"Oh," I said, "Mom's at the hospital, working."

"Well I wanted her to meet this nice, young gentleman, Blaine."

"Dwayne," both he and I corrected. "I know Serena," he said. "She was I my science class."

"Hey Dwayne," I said. "Can I get y'all anything?" I asked every one.

"Sweet tea, please," chimed my grandmothers.

"Dwayne, do you want anything?" I asked as I led everyone to the living room.

"I'm fine," he said. He then walked with me into the kitchen. He said as I poured the glasses of tea, "Your grandmothers are very nice."

"My family's from Georgia. But before that, they were from here." I said. "What are you doing here anyways?' I asked.

"I came to tell you something," he said.

"What?" I asked.

"Next week, I'll tell you." He suddenly changed his mind and walked out of the kitchen.

"Okay then," I said as he walked out of the kitchen. I served my family their drinks and sat down. I saw Dwayne was gone.

"So Serena, have you bee practicing," Granny asked.

"Yeah," I said. "I painted my room and made Maddie go to sleep."

"Next week is your seventeenth birthday, Serena," she noted. "Philo will come after you."

"Yeah, I know." It was something I was dreading. I really liked Dwayne though. _I can't tell them that I don't want Philo around. I can't tell them about the dreams._

_Tell them._

_Am I being manipulated?_

_Tell them you don't want him to come after you._

_Who are you? _I rubbed my head. I was getting a major headache.

"What's wrong, Serena?" Granny asked.

"I need fresh air," I fibbed. I walked out of the backdoor and walked into the forest. Once I was engulfed in the forest, I started jogging. I then tripped, spraining my ankle. I cried for help. I had a sudden feeling of déjà vu. I forgot about the rain, pelting down, freezing my skin. I looked at my foot and was rubbing it. I then heard a "What are you doing here?" I looked up and saw Dwayne, crouched right in front of me. He pulled my hair back out from my face.

"I- I don't know. I think I hurt something." I answered

"You have to go away, Serena," he said.

"Why?" I asked

"It's not safe here." He said. "Especially around me."

"It won't be safe for me anywhere next week," I said. "So why stop the danger?" I thought of the healing spell. _Guérir ankle_. My ankle went from throbbing pain to all better.

Dwayne suddenly then asked, "Why?"

"I'll tell you my secret if you tell me yours first." I then sat criss-cross to show I was okay.

"First, let's get you out of this rain," He said. "You don't need to be an ice cube." I then realized I was wearing a t-shirt. He picked me up and he said, "I'll take you to my place. I can run very fast. You might want to hold on tight." I got a little closer to his chest, which was ice cold. How long has he been out in the rain? He then ran very fast. The trees turned into blurs.

_And sing this lie that's half way mine  
The sword is slicing through the questions so I won't be fooled  
By his angel light._

We arrived at his house very quickly, in five minutes to be exact. He set me down when we got inside. Heat quickly touched my skin. The dryness of the house felt cozy. I instantly saw the wall of glass. I said, "Nice house."

"Thanks," he said. "Now, if we're going to share secrets, it'd best be in my room. Even though no one's here." He led me up the stairs and I saw the nice, office style walls. This house seemed like it would be found in Georgia more than Washington. We then entered his room. It was decorated in red. There was a red rug on top of the wooden floors. There then was a black futon up against the wall, which faced a black bookcase, filled with books. We both then sat on the futon, my stomach in a fit of butterflies. I stammered, "Y-y-you first, Dwayne."

"Why won't you be safe anywhere next week?" Was he… trying to make me forget about this secret? It would not work.

"Tell me your secret first," I said.

"I see how it is." He took a deep breath, which now I wonder more and more about each second I look back at it. "Have you ever heard of the story, Dracula?"

"Yeah, I've also been to his castle." He looked at me oddly. "What? Me and my family like to travel. We travel to France quite a lot."

"Well, I might be like Dracula." He was a vampire! So, he must go to Italy quite a lot. I knew a little bit about them, but not as much as I knew about sorcery.

"In a good or bad way?" I asked.

"Good. You see, this whole… clan is immune to the smell of blood, well except for Jasper, and can therefore live in any town, but we chose here so we can be out by day."

"Wow." Wow? Was that all I could say? My secret endangered me. If I told him, it would endanger him as well, and also endanger me even more. "I guess it's time to tell you my secret." I noticed my voice was filled with fear.

"Yeah, it is," Dwayne said.

"Well," I said, "I can do what people call magic. But it's actually called sorcery."

"Is that why you won't be safe?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said with fear filling my voice. "There's this family that has all the power called the Hastingses. They stole their power from my family back when my great-grandmother was at the peak of her reign, age seventeen, and their youngest will come after me. The Hastingses and my family are mortal enemies. Dwayne, he might kill me. That's why I'm not safe anywhere after next week. Next week is my seventeenth birthday."

"Well," he said, "why you and not your little sister?" That was something I didn't feel like going into.


End file.
